The thing is, I didn't move to St. Louis until 2003, and I didn't have this gig until 2006, so my list of the decade's tastiest dishes or best restaurants would be incomplete. At any rate, considering how many of those dishes have been retired, what would be the point?

Why don't I do this instead: From the standpoint of where our dining scene is right now -- and where I hope it heads over the next ten years -- here are the Ten Most Important St. Louis Restaurant Openings of the Aughts.

Nods of great respect to six worthy restaurants that didn't make the final cut: Acero, Erato on Main, Five, Franco, Moxyand Terrene. Also, this list doesn't include restaurants that opened prior to 2000 but underwent significant changes during the decade. Regrettably, that excludes Sidney Street Café and the remarkable work Kevin Nashan is doing there.